War, antics and vitriol – the England v Argentina rivalry is real but now it is only about football

Mexico 1986, France 1998, Japan 2002 … this is a match that transcends, with Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni calling for the focus to be on football, not the Falklands After confirmation that match 102, one of the World Cup semi-finals, would be England v Argentina, the 1982 Falklands/Malvinas conflict was mentioned at Lionel Scaloni’s press conference. “No, no, no,” the Argentina head coach tut-tutted emphatically. “This is just a football match. Let’s not look for other stuff. It’s a football game against a great team, with a great manager who I admire. But it’s a football match. End of.

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